Liberty Street – Lantenhammer Zwetschge
Lantenhammer just recently released a new line of barrel aged eau de vies. I already liked their Slyrs barrel aged bottlings, but in this case they aged their regular plum eau de vie in brandy barrels. On top of that, I am currently in the mood for Armagnac cocktails. So, I combined the eau de vie with it for a Champs-Élysées cocktail variation.
Lantenhammer uses plums from Germany for the barrel aged plum eau de vie. The plums are fermented under temperature controlled. Afterwards, Lantenhammer’s master distillers distil them twice to around 70 % ABV. The first part of the ageing process takes part in earthenware vats for three years. Finally, the eau de vie is finished for ten to twelve months in brandy barrels from the Iberian Peninsula.
Vanilla and plum notes
The brandy barrel finished Lantenhammer Zwetschge starts off with a bunch of typical plum eau de vie flavours. However, shortly afterwards you can taste additional caramel, vanilla and spice notes. I guess this is where the barrel ageing shines through. Furthermore, you can detect some flowery note, reminding me of candied violets. It is quite complex with only the slightest hint of menthol in the taste.
Strega instead of Chartreuse
You know that I am a big Chartreuse fan, but I also enjoy Strega. So, I discovered that recipes which demand Chartreuse often also work with Strega. In this case, I thought to pair the eau de vie with the more mellow Strega. Apart from that, I split the base between the eau de vie and V.S.O.P armagnac. To round everything off, I added two dashes of Fee Brother’s Whisky Barrel Aged Bitters to the final drink.
2,25 cl De Basque Armagnac V.S.O.P
1,5 cl Strega
1,5 cl Lemon Juice
1,5 cl Simple Syrup
Shake – strain – chilled Cocktail glass;
Garnish: Lemon Wheel;
Song: The New Basement Tapes – Liberty Street;
Similar to the eau de vie, the drink starts with a clear plum note. On top of that, the spices from the Strega come through paired with some brandy notes from the armagnac. The lemon juice and the simple syrup build the backbone of the drink and take the drink in a slightly fresher direction. All in all, the drink fits the colder days of the year quite perfectly.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The eau de vie was provided by Lantenhammer.
